WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Excalibur #18 by Tini Howard, Marcus To, Erick Arciniega & VC's Ariana Maher, on sale now
The X-Men are still picking up the pieces from X of Swords and trying to chart their way forward as the nation of Krakoa, but they just encountered a surprising snag that not only twists a recent stroke of good luck but could spell doom going forward.
The Betsy Braddock who returned to Earth-616 doesn't appear to be the true Captain Britain, and she may have sent Brian Braddock on a mission that could carry heavy consequences for Krakoa in Excalibur #18.
Captain Britain has seemingly been restored to Earth-616 following her apparent demise during the course of X of Swords. But Betsy Braddock seems -- different, following her experience outside of reality. Most of Excalibur chalk this up to lingering trauma from her near-death experience and decide to give her time to try and overcome these problems. But Rogue is more concerned by her attitude shift and comes to believe they aren't dealing with their version of Captain Britain. She ends up speaking with Brian Braddock after he stumbles upon the discovery of his sister's "return," and quickly comes to the same conclusion as Rogue -- while that may appear to be the Betsy Braddock they know, there's something amiss and it might not even be their Betsy.
While Rogue, Rictor, and (eventually) Psylocke try to work together to bring down Betsy, they don't do it in time to prevent Captain Britain from doing something with potentially ruinous consequences for Krakoa. While Brian is still in Krakoa, Betsy watches him speak with Rogue from the shadows. Once he's alone, Brian decides to try and catch some sleep in Krakoa, so he and Betsy can speak whenever she feels comfortable to do so. After he falls asleep, Betsy uses her telepathic powers to take over the mind of Brian, and send him back through a gate to Otherworld -- where his status as Captain Avalon allows him to pass without reproach.
The fact that a mind-controlled Brian just ventured into Otherworld on the supposed orders of Earth-616's Betsy Braddock could spell disaster for the X-Men and their recent attempts to solidify a relationship with Saturnyne and the Otherworld Court. All of the Quiet Council's attempts have been complicated by Earth-616's lack of a Captain Britain, who is required to fulfill many of the formalities of inducting someone into the Otherworld Parliament. But since Betsy was missing for so long, Saturnyne arranged for the X-Men to be kept out of the meeting until her return. Things are already tense enough with Saturnyne following X of Swords, which ended with Saturnyne more powerful than ever but with many X-Men wary of her and her actions.
A rogue player like the mysterious Betsy sending Brian Braddock into Otherworld on a mission could only make things worse. Saturyne's love for Brian could allow him to get close enough to do some serious damage to her or at least someone she relies on. If carried out by a representative of Earth-616 -- and if Earth-616 is therefore blamed for any attack, then Satyrnyne could lose what patience she does have for the X-Men and turn against them fully -- cutting them off completely from their potential allies in Amenth and from a way to reach the greater multiverse. It could even attract the multiversal figure's full attention and drive her into conflict against Krakoa and the X-Men, which could do be just one threat too many for the nation to contend with. Excalibur needs to capture the rogue Betsy, fast -- and find out what mission Brian Braddock has had forced onto him.